Govt hospital in Gujarat denies treatment to raped teen

While Gujarat joins the nation to mourn Patient X’s death, state’s people will be shocked to learn about some bitter truths happening in their own backyard.

While Gujarat joins the nation to mourn Patient X’s death, state’s people will be shocked to learn about some bitter truths happening in their own backyard.

While the 23-year-old braveheart girl at least didn’t have to suffer from lack of medical attention, Gujarat’s 14-year-old rape victim from Kadana area of Panchmahals, has to run from one hospital to another in search of a doctor who would look into her wound, leave alone heal her trauma.

Till date she had to visit four government hospitals for a medical test to substantiate her rape complaint and was denied proper treatment at the SSG Hospital, which also discharged her from the hospital without proper treatment! So much so, that the unfortunate teen had to undergo treatment in a private hospital citing a false reason – “I had fallen down from the stairs.”

SSG Hospital discharged the girl in the wee hours on Saturday, without even relieving her of the pain in her leg which occurred when she was being raped on Thursday afternoon. DNA had reported on Saturday that she went to three community health centres, before she was actually medically tested by the gynecologist at SSG Hospital.

DNA report started a blame game between the hospital authorities and the police, when the reporter asked both about the exact reason why the girl was discharged. Resident medical officer, SSG Hospital, Dr Pritesh Shah said that the girl was discharged because police which had brought her to them told the hospital authorities that cops need her for further investigation.

“They forced us to discharge the girl. However, if the police bring her back we will treat her again,” he said.

On the other hand, police sub inspector, Kadana Police station, AM Bariya said “No. We did not ask for her discharge. Why would we do it? Our investigations were over even before she was admitted to the SSG Hospital,” he said.

According to the case details, the teenager suffered bone injuries and had to be referred to orthopedic doctors, but she wasn’t given proper treatment. DNA talked to her family in Santrampur, when an emotionally agitated brother said that, one Palakben (probably a nurse in the department), had told them that the girl could be taken back home after the tests were over.

“We pleaded for proper treatment, especially of her fractured leg, but no one listened to us and eventually forced us to get her discharged from the hospital,” he said.

The family members then took her to a private hospital in Modasa, where too she was denied treatment after the doctors there found out that she was a rape victim, and finally she had to be brought back home.

The agonized girl, writhing in pain from the fracture, pleaded again and again to relieve her from pain. The helpless parents eventually took her to a private hospital in Lunavada and pleaded to a doctor for treatment. “We said that she fell down from the stairs and suffered leg injuries,” the brother said.